


A World for You and Me

by Destinyiel



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: A wild ride af, Alliance Rune (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Angst and Feels, M/M, Mutual Pining, Post-Battle, We defeated Valentine, hurt!Alec, post-breakup Malec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 15:45:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11717475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destinyiel/pseuds/Destinyiel
Summary: Shadowhunters and Downworlders manage to defeat Valentine and Jonathan, but does that mean Magnus and Alec are back together now that the danger is no more?





	A World for You and Me

> _“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” **–**_ Lao Tzu

 

That was it. Valentine was dead, Jonathan was imprisoned in Edom… The war was finally over. Everyone knew that eventually they would probably have to face Jonathan again, but they decided not to dwell on that for now. The battlefield was still stained with blood of the people who gave their lives in order to defeat Valentine and his demonic son.

Alec didn’t know what he expected would happen after they win. Hell, he didn’t even want to believe they would actually be able to do it. Valentine and the Circle members were a challenge, but in the end the real struggle was fighting demon-blooded Jonathan. Turns out that even having two warriors with angel blood was not as much of an advantage as they initially thought. But Alec’s mind was fully focused on protecting the people he loved.

He lifted his shirt a little and examined the cut in his side. He winced. It was deep and blazing, definitely infected with demon poison. Alec cursed under his breath and activated his Iratze rune. The effectiveness of it surely left much to be desired, but he took a deep breath and covered the wound back with his shirt.

Looking around, he noticed a familiar glow in the distance. He couldn’t help but glance at the back of his left hand, but the Alliance rune drawn there by Magnus has already faded. Alec swallowed hard. Fighting alongside Magnus was very much like fighting with Jace, although Magnus was way more graceful than Alec’s parabatai, and definitely less cocky, however, he had his moments, which made Alec shake his head at the warlock. But most of all, them having each other’s backs was weirdly refreshing and Alec realized how much not only his heart but also his body missed Magnus.

Magnus was asked to create a portal so everyone could return safely to the New York Institute, so Alec joined his siblings and Clary who were standing a bit farther to the right as they headed towards the portal. They were finally able to go home.

_Home._

Alec’s chest clenched painfully. Maybe he needed to embrace the fact that he would never be truly able to go back to his home.

“You guys okay?” He spoke, eyes darting between Jace, Isabelle and Clary, making sure there were no injuries, and truthfully, just taking everything in, the fact that they were all alive and kicking.

“Are _you?_ ” Jace asked, his eyebrows raised, as he watched his parabatai intently.

“Yeah,” Alec replied. “These bastards wish they could get a slice of me.”

Jace chuckled, but his expression became serious once again. Alec was confused. Since when did his parabatai not joke around?

“I didn’t mean _this_ ,” Jace said, gesturing to Alec’s body. “Are you gonna stay and talk to Magnus?”

Alec bit his lip. He wanted nothing more than to do that. He turned around and looked at Magnus, who was currently busy talking to Catarina and probably saying goodbye to Raphael, who was gathering all the vampires in order to return to Hotel Dumort before the sunrise. Alec couldn’t help but smile, almost imperceptibly, at the sight of Magnus with a genuine smile on his face.

Then, Magnus suddenly glanced over to the direction where Alec stood and their eyes met for a brief, agonizing moment, and the smile left Magnus’ lips.

Alec turned his head away quickly, closed his eyes and exhaled heavily. His eyes though, did not linger on Magnus long enough to notice that he wasn’t angry.

“Alexander!” Alec heard Magnus call out in the distance and his heart skipped a beat. He watched Magnus make his way to him, leaving smirking Catarina and eye-rolling Raphael behind.

Clary, Jace and Izzy moved back a bit, to give them some privacy. They talked to each other in hushed voices, there was even some giggling involved, but Alec didn’t care what they said at all.

Magnus stood in front of Alec and tugged at his shirt. Alec looked at him, his hair was messy, the red highlights barely visible due to lack of sunlight, his face weary, and Alec thought Magnus must have exhausted his magic quite a bit, so holding a portal for so long couldn’t be a pleasant experience.

“You’re bleeding.” Magnus frowned. “Are you okay? Do you want me to take care of that?”

“I’m fine,” Alec spoke hastily. “It-It’s not my blood. I’m okay, Magnus.”

Magnus didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. Alec bit the inside of his cheek, silently praying that he could somehow manage to fight the nauseous feeling that appeared somewhere along the way. It must have been the poison.

Alec wanted nothing more than to grab Magnus’ waist, bring him closer and kiss him. Kiss him until he’s breathless and until the aching desire to touch Magnus would be satisfied. He wanted to tell Magnus how much he misses him. But he didn’t dare to do any of that.

“You were great out there,” he said instead and Magnus smiled at him.

“Were you surprised?” Magnus asked, jokingly, but Alec immediately frowned and shook his head.

“Not at all,” he said.

Magnus laughed.

“Oh, Alexander…” He bit his lip, still giving Alec the favorite smile of his. Then, suddenly, he sighed and the smile was once again gone. “You should probably go.”

Alec opened his mouth to protest, but he remembered that Magnus had to hold up that damn portal and he didn’t want to make him do that longer than absolutely necessary, so he gave Magnus a gentle pat on the shoulder, and turned around to join everyone else.

Before he even managed to take more than three steps away from Magnus, he felt a strong grip on his arm and suddenly, he was right back in front of the warlock, who put his other hand on Alec’s neck and kissed him, forcing all the air from Alec’s lungs.

For a moment, Shadowhunter stood still, too shocked to even properly respond to the sudden act of affection, but he managed to gain back his composure and kissed Magnus back as hard and desperate as he possibly could. Magnus moved his hand from Alec’s neck to his hair and buried his fingers in it. It was all so familiar to Alec, but at the same time it felt almost as if he was discovering it all for the first time.

Their foreheads touched for a while after they stopped kissing, they just closed their eyes and enjoyed the moment.

“We still have to… You know, talk,” Magnus said. “About us.”

“We will.” Alec assured him. “But I should really go now. I think you’ve exerted yourself enough for one day.”

Magnus huffed a laugh, as recollection of the first time Alec shared energy with him flashed in his eyes.

“Okay,” Magnus said, smiling. “I’ll call you.”

Alec nodded and let his eyes linger on Magnus for a few seconds before he turned around and went through a portal with his friends.

When he found himself back at the Institute, his vision got blurry and he had to lean onto the wall to steady himself, and only then he realized how much effort he put into not letting Magnus know something is wrong with him.

He took a few deeper breaths and felt a hand on his shoulder. He still couldn’t see clear but the red blur of hair told him it was Clary. It would make sense that they got here together, their rooms were basically opposite each other.

“Hey, Alec, is everything okay?” Clary asked, concerned.

Alec let go of the wall and blink repeatedly before he could finally see the girl’s face and he forced a half-smile to assure her that everything was _okay_.

“I’m just tired,” he said and headed for his room. “Nothing a good night’s sleep won’t fix, Clary. You should go rest up too. The war is over but something tells me we’ll have to deal with more crap tomorrow.”

Clary chuckled.

“It is what it is,” she said and sent Alec a warm smile, which he tried to reciprocate, but he suspected that it looked more like a wince, so he opened the door and stepped into his room, leaving Clary alone in the corridor, hoping she wouldn’t alert Jace and Izzy that Alec is clearly in a weird condition.

He did not for the love of the Angel have the energy to get out of his sweaty and bloody clothes, so he just collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep, ignoring the stinging pain in his side.

 

* * *

 

 

Magnus slept for what seemed almost like a century, but in reality it was barely eight hours. When he woke up, though, he felt _almost_ at his full strength, which was unusual, since he almost ran out of juice at night.

The afternoon was quite warm and sunny, but Magnus has stopped appreciating beautiful weather ever since he broke up with Alec.

He remembered the beautiful mornings when he would wake up next to his boyfriend and he could swear, the sun on his skin never felt this good before. Right now he just horribly, achingly missed Alexander Lightwood, and yesterday’s events, although harrowing, brought a certain realization for Magnus – that he didn’t care what Alec had done, he just wanted him back, badly.

But he also knew that he hurt Alec a lot as well. He saw it in his eyes when he walked away, and every single day after that, when they had to be at the same spot due to preparations for the battle with Valentine. And this pain, he thought, would not just easily disappear.

Magnus unlocked his phone. He promised to call Alec, but he hesitated nonetheless. After all, after the battle Alec did not seem keen on interacting with Magnus, at least that’s what it looked like. Magnus shook his head. _No,_ he thought. _I owe him as much as not to assume things like this._

He was just about to press the name “Alexander” in his phone, when suddenly it rang and the name of the Lightwood sister appeared on screen. Magnus frowned, but picked up immediately.

“Hello?” He said, slightly confused, but he supposed he could consider Isabelle his friend, and friends did, indeed, call each other from time to time.

“Magnus?” Isabelle’s voice was shaking and it brought Magnus back to the ground in merely a second. The way she said his name was worryingly desperate. Too urgent. “You have to get to the Institute. Please.”

“What happened, Izzy?” Magnus asked.

“Alec.”

This one short word was enough for Magnus’ heart to drop to the floor. He hung up right away, quickly used magic to change from his pyjamas to proper clothes and opened the portal to the Institute.

Even though travelling by a portal took literally a few seconds, the time he spent on the way from his loft to the Institute felt like forever. His thoughts even managed to wander to the worst scenario, the one he would definitely not survive, but he shook his head to get rid of these intrusive thoughts.

Alec was alive. And whatever happened to him, Magnus would fix it.

He stepped into the Institute and quickly headed for Alec’s room, followed by a bunch of curious stares and a few smirks and whispers, which he ignored.

When he got to Alec’s room, he noticed Isabelle, Jace, and Clary assisting Maryse next to her son’s bed. Magnus nearly stopped breathing. Alec’s face was pale and his breathing uneven. He was unconscious. Then, Magnus noticed a huge wound in Alec’s left side, his blood mixed with black ichor was pouring out of it relatively slowly, but the red skin around the wound clearly indicated that it was infected by demon poison.

“Alexander, hey, can you wake up for me? Please?” Magnus got on his knees next to Alec’s bed and tried to wake him up, but with no result. Perhaps it would be easier that way, to treat him. “What happened?”

“He said he’s okay,” Clary said quietly. “When we came back, he told me he was just tired… I should have known, god damn it!”

Jace put his arm around her waist and kissed her hair.

“It’s not your fault Clary,” he told her.

Jace had a pained expression, which told Magnus way more than he even wanted to know. Alec was in extreme pain, even if he was unconscious.

Magnus cursed at himself. He saw the blood and he let Alec convince him it wasn’t his. He should have insisted on checking it. He should have done something.

“I should have never let him go through a portal like this,” Magnus muttered, and the rest of them didn’t know if he was talking to them, or to himself. “He could have died.”

“Magnus please,” Maryse pleaded. “You have to do something, now.”

Magnus knew she was right. He was breathing heavily but tried to focus as much as he possibly could. He urged his magic to gather in his fingertips and he released its healing properties right into Alec’s wound. Initially, it rejected the process, but after a while, when Magnus refused to give up, the wound finally started healing and Alec started breathing regularly.

His companions breathed a sigh of relief.

Magnus was exhausted, but he sat on the bed next to Alec and held his hand.

“Alec?” Magnus whispered softly. “Hey, baby, wake up… Please.”

Nothing happened for a good while. But when Magnus put his hand on Alec’s chest, he felt his heart beating strongly and healthily, which meant it was a matter of time before he woke up.

Then, suddenly the door to Alec’s bedroom opened and when Magnus turned around, he saw Inquisitor Herondale, followed by at least four guards. He frowned.

Maryse and Jace tried to let the Inquisitor know that right now was not the right moment, that Head of the Institute is not in a good condition and he cannot attend any meetings or fill in any paperwork, but she just hushed them.

Magnus squeezed Alec’s hand a bit harder. Something was telling him he would have to let go of it sooner than he thought.

“Magnus Bane,” Imogen spoke and her voice was cold just like her expression. He turned around to face her, confusion and anger written on his face. “You are under arrest for high treason and you are to await your trial in the City of Bones. Step away from Mr. Lightwood, you’ll have to come with us.”

It was Isabelle who spoke first, full of disbelief.

“High treason?! What are you saying?”

Imogen rolled her eyes.

“Miss Lightwood, I suggest you calm down, otherwise I’ll have to arrest you as well.” She threatened and Isabelle scoffed.

“Magnus is here treating my brother. The Head of the New York Institute, in case you forgot who he is.” Her voice was full of venom and she looked disgusted with Inquisitor’s actions.

“Izzy, stop.” Jace tried to calm her down and he grabbed her arm gently, but she broke it free and looked at her brother angrily.

“What, now that she’s your grandma you’re siding with her?” She said. “High treason? You know that if we let Magnus go, we won’t get him back. The punishment for treason is death. Will you look Alec in the eye and tell him we let the man he loves get killed?”

Jace hesitated and wanted to say something more, but Magnus stood up and stretched his wrists towards Imogen.

“Let’s not make a scene, Love,” he said to Isabelle.

“Magnus – “ She began, but he interrupted her.

“Just tell Alexander. Tell him everything,” Magnus said as he got dragged out of the room by his handcuffed wrists.

 

* * *

 

 

It’s been almost an hour since Alec woke up to the sight of Magnus being… _escorted_ out of his room by Imogen Herondale and her guards. Alec was on the verge of having a full-blown panic attack while pacing in front of the door to his – or what at least used to be _his_ office, now it was occupied by the Inquisitor and the rest of the Council, which apparently had a meeting right after everyone returned to the Institute right before the dawn.

Finally, the guard opened the door and Alec was allowed to walk in. He tried not to showcase his anger right away, because he knew the best way to negotiate with the Clave was to be calm and collected.

The wound that Magnus had healed still burned him a bit, but it was nothing compared to what was going on in his head. The thought of losing Magnus was unbearable.

“Make your case quick, Mr. Lightwood,” Imogen said and Alec tried his best not to grab her by the throat and choke her.

“You’ve imprisoned Magnus Bane for… high treason? He fought with us, him and the rest of the warlocks. They risked their lives, just like we did,” Alec hissed. “And now you want to execute him?”

Imogen’s lips created a tight line as she watched Alec intently, clearly certain that it’s only a matter of seconds before he gives her an excuse to throw him in a cell with Magnus.

“The warlock conspired with the Seelie Queen, who made an alliance with Valentine,” she weighed all her voice carefully, speaking slowly and clearly. “Do you honestly think we need any more reason to find him guilty? All of you say the war is over. But the war is never over. We let Downworlders off easy for their little… rebellion… And next thing we know is us, Shadowhunters, sharing Valentine’s fate.”

“You can’t,” Alec said.

“Yes, actually I can, and excuse me, but I’m in a hurry to deliver the results of the trial to the prisoner.” Imogen concluded and stood up, clearly expecting Alec to leave the office.

“Trial?!” Alec shouted. “All of this is bullshit! You need a scapegoat, the whole Clave needs it to stay in power. But I’m not leaving this room until you let Magnus go.”

Inquisitor sighed.

“Unless you can present a reasonable alternative, I think this conversation is over.”

Alec gritted his teeth. Imogen shrugged.

“In that case…” She said as she headed to the door, but Alec grabbed her by the arm.

“Wait,” he said. “Wait. I do have an alternative. I’m _still_ the Head of this Institute. Which means I am responsible if the Downworld gets out of control. Take me. Release Magnus, pardon him, and take me instead. Something tells me the Clave will like to see me executed even more than a warlock.”

Imogen clearly wasn’t prepared for this kind of plea from Alec. She looked reluctant to accept this proposal, and Alec thought that she had some human instincts after all, if she didn’t want to send her grandson’s parabatai to death. But Alec also knew, that if she turned him down, she would lose  all her credibility.

He smirked when she turned to the rest of the Clave representatives who gathered for the Council. He didn’t even have to look at them to know what their decision would be.

“Very well, Mr. Lightwood. If that’s your wish,” She said with certain sadness in her voice and in her eyes, something Alec did not expect from her. “Do you want to tell your family? Or deliver the news to the Warlock yourself?”

Alec thought of all of them. First and foremost, Izzy.

Izzy, who was always getting in different kinds of trouble, who loved him unconditionally ever since he could remember, ever since she was born and she only giggled in presence of her older brother.

Jace, his parabatai, who stood by him all his life, who swore to be by his side until death frees them of the vow. Who was supposed to be buried right by Alec’s side. Alec thought that he wishes it could still happen, many years from now. He wasn’t sure if those executed for high treason would be buried in City of Bones though, and for a second he felt sad.

But then, he thought of Magnus. Magnus, who walked into his life with a flirty smile and his magical presence, who turned Alec’s world around and yes, Alec wished more than anything that he would be allowed to get old with Magnus by his side, to get to experience it all, the hardships of everyday life and the fulfillment and satisfaction of creating their own reality.

“No,” Alec said, much to Imogen’s surprise. “You tell them. Just take me and… Do your thing.”

 

* * *

 

 

Magnus stood in his cell, silent, holding onto his sanity, while the Silent Brothers tried their best to drill into his mind and hijack his brain. He knew, that if he lets his guard down even for a quick moment, he would face the biggest torture he has faced since the agony rune was used on him when him and Valentine switched bodies.

_Inquisitor approaching._

Magnus heard in his head and his breathing got funny for a moment. So that was it. He thought he had more time, he thought they would let Alexander see him, at least, but maybe… Maybe Alec had no desire to see a man who committed high treason.

The thought was painful to Magnus. He wished they both knew where they stood before all of this happened. He cursed the odds that separated them and most of all he cursed himself for handling things the way he had.

Magnus saw the Institute portal open and she saw Imogen Herondale, alone this time, walk in between the cells. She looked… sad, Magnus thought.

One of the Silent Brothers opened Magnus’ cell with the palm of his hand and gestured Magnus to move.

“Let’s go,” Imogen said and instructed Magnus to walk through the portal, specifically designed to only lead those who walk into it to the New York Institute.

He found himself in the court room, where he was previously defending Isabelle Lightwood from getting de-runed after she sabotaged the interrogation of Meliorn. Magnus looked at the audience, which was basically full. He recognized a few faces of Shadowhunters, but he also saw Luke and Raphael, and he thought they had been brought here to bear witness to the execution of the traitor.

“We’re here to evaluate the guilt or innocence of the warlock present, Magnus Bane, accused of high treason, aiding Valentine Morgenstern, Jonathan Morgenstern and the Seelie Queen in the war against the Clave and the Downworld,” Imogen spoke and she sounded almost bored. Magnus thought bitterly, that she was probably used to convicting Downworlders for the crimes they didn’t commit.

Imogen continued her speech.

“The Clave Council has unanimously found the defendant guilty,” she said and Magnus closed his eyes. It was all over.

He searched for Alec in the crowd, with the Lightwoods and Clary in the front row, but he was nowhere to be seen. Magnus bit his lip.

“However,” Imogen said and Magnus frowned and turned his head to look at the Inquisitor. Somewhere along the way he caught the equally surprised stare of Isabelle. “By the local Head of the Institute’s motion, the Council has decided to pardon Mr. Bane of his crimes. Mr. Bane, from now on, you are a free man.”

Magnus’ mouth hung open. _Alec?_ Alec managed to convince the Clave to release him? Then why wasn’t he here…? Magnus’ emotions were all over the place. From joy, to worry and overwhelming need to see Alec.

“But…” Inquisitor continued and Magnus exchanged stares with Isabelle once again. She shook her head, also not knowing what was happening. “No crime against the cause, _our_ mutual cause, can go unpunished.”

_No._

_No, no… No._

“The punishment for treason is death.”

The grim silence fell over the room. Magnus’ heart was pounding in his chest.

“But the Clave has decided to show… mercy, due to Mr. Lightwood’s unending dedication and respectable position as the leader. As of today, he is no longer a part of Shadowhunter community, as he has been recently de-runed and escorted out of this Institute for good. If Mr. Lightwood happens to find himself back here or in any other Institute, he will be executed on sight.”

The sound of the judge hammer broke the silence and Magnus could hear the cries of Alec’s family as the piercing noise in his skull grew louder and louder and his lips and hands trembled.

 _Alexander… What have you done?_ He thought to himself.

_You stupid, stupid Nephilim._

* * *

 

 

A few weeks passed and Magnus spent basically every day and night with the Lightwoods, Clary, Simon, Luke and other friends, searching for Alec. They couldn’t find him, he was nowhere to be seen.

Even wolves could not track him.

Magnus had to convince himself that Alec was alive. The world was a cruel place when you were aware of the demons crawling in every dark street and when you’re an easy target because you have no runes or weapons to protect yourself.

There was also another matter.

The procedure of de-runing was excruciatingly painful. A lot of Shadowhunters are not able to endure this sort of pain, both physical and mental, and they die or go mad, but Magnus refused to believe that it happened to his Alexander.

One night, when he was alone, he decided to go to one place that was so painfully obvious, that he hadn’t checked it before.

The roof of that old building where he used to go with Alec to watch the stars and make out.

He didn’t use a portal, he just walked there, taking in the cold night air, and when he eventually found himself on the roof, he gasped.

“Alexander,” he whispered almost inaudibly, and the person sitting at the edge of the roof definitely couldn’t hear him. Not without a hearing rune.

Magnus ran towards Alec, who didn’t really look like Alec anymore, as he was paler than before, with bloody marks and wounds where his runes used to be, his hair was longer and he definitely lost a lot of weight. He kneeled behind Alec and hugged him tight from behind, caressing his chest with one hand and his hair with the other.

“Alexander,” he whispered into the slim of his back. “You’re here. You’re alive. I was so worried, why didn’t you come to me?”

He felt more than heard Alec taking a deep breath.

“They really let you go,” Alec said quietly, much to Magnus’ puzzlement. “I’m so happy. I thought… I thought they only said they would, but they really wouldn’t, and –“

“Alexander. I’m here. I’m here with you.”

Alec nodded. Magnus frowned.

“Come home with me,” Magnus said and sat next to Alec, grabbing his hand and bringing it to his chest. “Please, come home. I can’t handle it when you’re not with me.”

Now Alec seemed confused.

“But I’m…I’m not a Shadowhunter anymore,” he said and looked at Magnus, frowning. “I’m not a Shadowhunter, I’m not a Mundane, I’m nothing, Magnus.”

Magnus’ heart broke.

“You will always be my Alec,” he said quietly, but with as much force as he could. “I love you. Why did you disappear like that?”

Alec let out a sob.

“Magnus, I –“ He stopped himself for a second. “I did it for you. So you could live a happy life, find someone and…”

“I already have my someone,” Magnus said and squeezed Alec’s hand tighter. “My someone saved my life. And I didn’t fall in love with him because he was a damn Shadowhunter, God damn it!”

Alec's lips were trembling.

“Magnus, I am nothing, I _have_ nothing.”

Magnus shook his head.

“You have me. And that’s not gonna change,” he stated. “Your family’s been looking for you too. And Clary. Luke, Simon, even Raphael, can you believe it?”

Magnus stood up and Alec followed. Magnus thought it was a good sign. They looked at each other in silence for a while, before Alec sighed and nodded at Magnus and Magnus sent him his most genuine smile, just like right after the battle with Valentine.

Alec buried his face in Magnus’ neck to hide the tears that were welling in his eyes.

Magnus kissed his shoulder and Alec shuddered, not really from cold. Then he knew.

He still had a home. He _was home._

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> Thank you soooo much for reading, it means the world to me. I did not want to split this story into chapters, I don't trust myself enough to do it, so I wrote it all in one long chapter. I hope you liked it, please, let me know in the comments :) 
> 
> Have a nice day and I'm sorry :'D


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